TLDR: A series of controlled studies on basic income in the United States have found that although recipients reduce their work hours, they are seldom better off on broader measures of well-being. In short, basic income appears not to relieve the symptoms of poverty.
It’s a disappointing result, and it goes against my longstanding opinion that the problem with being poor is that you simply don’t have enough money. I wonder if the U.S. is so rich now that even for the “poor” our problems are largely post-material in nature. If so, then it’s truly a strange new world we’re living in.
1 Comment
TLDR: A series of controlled studies on basic income in the United States have found that although recipients reduce their work hours, they are seldom better off on broader measures of well-being. In short, basic income appears not to relieve the symptoms of poverty.
It’s a disappointing result, and it goes against my longstanding opinion that the problem with being poor is that you simply don’t have enough money. I wonder if the U.S. is so rich now that even for the “poor” our problems are largely post-material in nature. If so, then it’s truly a strange new world we’re living in.